.

Here, gathered in our beloved South Dakota, are a few members of our Williamson / Mattson Clan. Charles and Luella are to be blamed (be kind, they didn't know what they were doing). We're generally a happy bunch and somewhat intelligent (notwithstanding our tenuous grasp on reality). I'm also proud to say that most of us still have our teeth.

Sunday, December 29, 2013

We have a bit of vaudeville in our family tree. Lynn Freeman Cowan was our 1st cousin, 3 times removed. That means he was the son of our Great Great Great Aunt Margaret May Pierce. His biography is listed below.

Birth:

Jun. 8, 1888

Death:

Aug. 29, 1973

He was a LT COL, US ARMY during World War IIHe Received the WORLD WAR II LEGION OF MERITCousin Lynn was a composer, songwriter, pianist, actor, director and singer, educated at Iowa State College with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree. He was a member of a vaudeville team with Bill Bailey. During World War II, he was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Corps of Engineers, and he received the Legion of Merit.In Okinawa, he managed the Castle Terrace Club. In 1963, he retired to Kauai, Hawaii. Joining ASCAP in 1942, his chief musical collaborator was Alex Sullivan. His chief popular-song compositions include "Kisses", "Dream House", "Just Give Me a Week in Paris", "Secret" and "I'm in Love with You"(Information provided by Chuck Cummins)The Relationship Chart follows along with a recording of one of his most famous hits Kisses. We need to thank Angie Mattson for discovering this gem in our family history. Enjoy,Victor

Warning! Please Read On.

Tracing one's genealogy can be a tricky endeavor. Once you move past three or four generations, the information you discover on the internet may or may not be accurate. What you read on this blog represents the best I've found using Ancestry.com, The LDS Church's Family Search, and Google. Corrections are gladly welcome. Please send your information to AnAmericanDynasty@gmail.com

I'm interested in information on two family lines in particular.

I'm searching for our Vercellino family from Northern Italy and our Mattson /Tornberg family in Sweden. Again, you can reach me at AnAmericanDynasty@gmail.com